Worshippers across the Orthodox Christian world have begun Christmas celebrations, with clergy in Bethlehem, Cairo, Moscow, Kyiv and other Eastern Christian communities commemorating the biblical birth of Jesus. In Bethlehem, which braced for a rare snowstorm, Syria’s Orthodox archbishop joined his Greek and Coptic Orthodox counterparts for...

KIEV: Thirteen Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 17 injured when the bus they were travelling in collided with military trucks in bad weather in the war-torn east, officials said on Tuesday. The collision on Monday night was due to bad weather and took place during the rotation of professional soldiers and volunteers deployed in eastern Ukraine...

PARIS: Germany cast doubt on Monday on whether a four-way summit on the Ukraine crisis in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Jan.15 would take place and France’s president said the meeting would depend on the likelihood of “new progress” being made. More than 4,700 people have been killed in fighting between Kiev’s forces and...

PARIS—French President Francois Hollande is calling for sanctions on Russia to be lifted if there is progress in Ukraine. During a two-hour radio interview, Hollande said sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States had not only hit Russia hard, but were also hurting the European economy. But there must be no new sanctions – and those...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said, “I can’t say yet if and when such a meeting will take place. Such a meeting only makes sense if we can make real progress.” …read more Source: World...